Switch



Mar. 6, 1923. 1,447,171

R. B. BENJAMIN ET AL SWITCH Filed June 2l, 1915 4 sheets-sheet l Mar. 6,1923. 1,447,171

R. B. BENJAMIN ET AL swITH Filed June 21, 1915 4 sheets-sheet 2 4 n I YI |||||1 v x I nl 53 yNIMH 1 Mar. 6, 1923. 1,447,171

R. B. BENJAMIN ET Al.

SWITCH Filed June 2l, 1915 4 sheets-sheet 5 3 a Zig ZZ j@ l2.

Mar. 6, 1923.

R. B. BENJAMN ET AL SWITCH 4 sheets-sheet 4 Filed June 21, 1915 PatentedMar. 6, 19.23.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE.

REUBEN B. BENJAMIN AND 'EDWIN A. DETRICK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,ASSIGNORS TO BENJAMIN ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, A COR- PORATION OF ILLINOIS.

SWITCH.

Application filed June 21, 1915. Serial No. 35,329.

To all whom t may concern.' y

Be it known that we, REUBEN B. BENJA- MIN and EDWIN A. DETRioK, bothcitizens of the United States, residinof at Chicago, in the county ofCook and tate of Illinois, have jointly invented new and usefulImprovements in Switches, or' which the following is a full, clear,concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification.

Our invention relates to switches, and more specifically to pullswitches used in connection with lamp sockets.

Among the objects of our invention is to provide an improved switch ofthis character in which arcing when the 'contact 1S broken shall bereduced to a minimum, and which shall be simple in construction andoperation and efficient in use.

Further objects will appear from the detailed description to followtaken in connection with the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which we have shown various embodimentsof our invention,

Fig. 1 is an axial section showing our invention in connection with anangle lamp socket showing the manner in which the pull member is ledfrom the switch, and showing the manner in which the switch and contactsare mounted in the socket;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the socket of Fig. l, the cap of the socketbeing removed to show the location of the binding posts;

Fig. 3 is a bottoni view of the socket;

Fi 4 is a section on' the line 4-5 of Fig. 1 loo ing downward, showingthe manner in which the switch mechanism is mounted on the insulatingbase;

Fig. 5 is a section on the linel 4-5 of Fig.

`1 looking upward;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6*(3 of Fig. 4, showing the electricalconnection between the movable member of the switch and the threadedshell contact, and showing alsoy the actuating mechanism for the switch;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 4 showing the manner inwhich the base sections are held together, and also showing part of thecircuit between the threaded shell contact and the movable member of theswitch;

pull member is led from the socket and the manner in which the switchand contacts are mounted in the socket;

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of the modification of Fig. 11, 'parts beingbroken away to show the details of the switch;

Fig. 13 is a bottom view on a. reduced scale of the socket shown in Fig.11;

Fig. 14 is a sectional view on the line 14j-14 of F ig; 13 showing 'themanner in which the center contact is connected to its binding plate;

Fig. 1 5 is an axial section showing our invention in connection with aninverted. angle socket, showing the manner in which the pull memberleads from the socket, and showing the manner in which the switch andcontacts are mounted in the socket;

Fig. 16 is a side elevation of the modification of Fig. 15, parts beingbroken away to show details of the switch; l

Fig. 17 is av bottom view on a reduced scale of the socket shown in Fig.15, the cap being removed to show the location of the binding screws;and

Fig. 18 is a sectional detail showing the manner in which the centercontact is connected to its binding plater Referring now to the drawingsin detail, and first to the modification of Figs. 1to 10, inclusive, inthis modification we have shown our invention in connection with anangle lamp socket 2O comprising a two part insulating-base 21 formed ofthe two base portions 21a and 21b and a casing 22 for the insulatingbase, and the parts carried thereby. The casing 22 is provided with anannular bead 23 and is flared outwardly at its lower end as shown at 24to provide means for attachment for a shade holder 25, to which theshade 26 is Secured by means of lll screws 27, For securing the socketto .a conduit .the casing has secured thereto a screwv threaded bushing28. The casing is provided with the usual cap 29. Secured to theinsulating base 21 are the usual center -screws 38 and 39. The base 21is provided with a channel or passage 40 in which are located theconductors leading :from the bushing 28 to the binding screws 38 and 39.'llhe binding plate 37 is connected to the center contact 30 by means ofa screw 41, as shown 1n Fig. 9, this screw also assisting inholding thetwo parts ot the insulating 'base together. The binding plate 36 iselec-- trically connected 'with a spring contact plate 42 by means of ascrew 43 extending through an opening in the contact plate and threadedinto the binding plate. rlhe switch mechanism, indicated in general at44, is located in communicating recesses 44a and 44h in the baseportions2la and 2lb, respec tively.

rlhe switch mechanism comprises a spring contact member 45, a rotatablecontact member 46 movable into and out of engagement wit-h the member45, a pull chain 47 for op erating the switch, and a ratchet mechanism48 forming part of the transmission between the pull chain 47 and therotatable member of the switch. rlhe rotatable contact member 46 issupported on an insulating member 49 to which it is secured by means ofa hollow rivet oreyelet 50'.

The contact 46 comprises curved contact or brush portions 51 forengagement with the spring conta-ct 45, and a Hat portion 52 whichengages the side of the insulating member 49. The insulating'member 49is rotatably mounted on a shaft 53 formed ot conductmg material which isheld in place between the two base sections 21 and 21". Rotatablymounted on thisv shaft 53 is a switch lever or wheel 54 providedvwith alug or projection 55 over which engages a link 56 (see Fig. 14)connected with the pull chain 47 An insulatinlibre' disc or washer 57 isplaced between t e rotatable contact; 46 and the pull chain 47 toprevent any possibility of these parts coming in contact. An 4insulatingspacing washer 58 is provided between t-he insulatm member 49 and thewall of the recess in whlch the switch is located.

The insulating member 49 is cut away, asv

shown at 59, to permit the spring contact `45 tio/spring away from thecontact plate 42 ing member 49 together with the contact brush 5l formarotatable cam-wheel having a pair of conducting cam portions formed bythe contactbrush 51, and having. a pair ot non-conducting cam portionsformed by those parts o1e the insulating 'member 49 loetween ,theconducting cam portions. Fach of the conducting portions terminates in adrop, and each of the non-conducting cam portions terminates in a drop,the drop trom the conducting cam portion onto the rionconducting(portion being greater than thedrop from the non-conducting cam portiononto the conducting-.cam port-ion. rllhe spring contact 45 is heldinplace between the base portions 2li and 21b by means of a pin 60, asshown in Figs. 1 and'8.

rl`he ratchet mechanism 48 comprises two toothed members 61 and 62 whichmay be ot stamped sheet metal, the. member 61 being provided with lugs63 struck up therefrom which extend into openings 64 in the switch lever54, 'and the member 62 being provided with lugs 66 which extend throughopenings in the insulating disc 57, the rotatable contact 46 and theinsulating member 49, as shown in Fig. 6. A torsion spring 67 isprovided for returning the switch'lever- 54 after it has been operatedby means of considerably the pull chain 47 The Shaft 53 is electricallyconnected to the shell contact 31 by means of a sheet metal strip 68having a curved portion 69 embracing the shaft, and a flat portion 70engaging a flat portion of the shell contact 31. This strip 68 passesthrough an opening 71 in the lower base portion 21h, through whichopening also passes a screw 72 which engages a nut 73 to hold the baseportions 21a and 21" together and also to hold the shell contact 31 onthe base.

The casing 22 is provided. with a chain guide or horn 74 through whichthe pull chain 47 is led from thev switch lever 54 to an opening 75 inthe shadeholder25 from whence the pull chain passes downwardly betweenthe lamp and the shade.

lt will be noted that the chain guide 74 extends downwardly at an acuteangle to the aXis of the socket so that there are no abrupt changes indirection of the pull! chain 47.

'In this modification the circuit through the socket is from the bindingscrew 39, through the binding plate 37, screw 41 (Fig. 9) center contact30, lamp circuit, shell contact 31, strip 68 (Figs. 6 and 7) shaft 53,rotatable contact member 46, spring contact 45 (Fig. 1) spring contact42, screw 43 (Fig. 8) and binding plate -36 to the bind- 1ng screw 38.

The operation of the device of this modification is as follows: Assumingthat the parts are in the position shown in- Fig. 1,

the circuit will be closed and the lamp will be lit. If it is desired toopen the circuit the pull chain 47 is pulled downward causing theinsulating member 49 Ato be turned counter-clockwise, as shown in Figs.1 and 8, the teeth on the members 61 and 62 being inclined so thatcounter-clockwise move` ment .of the driving member 61 will betransmitted to the member 62.

It will be noted that during the movement 'of the member 49 from theposition shown ing. Thus with a pressure of 250 volts this pull switchsocket is given a rating of 660 watts, whereas the ordinary pull switchsocket is given a rating of 250 watts. When the pull member 47v isreleased the spring 67 will return the'switch lever 54 to a position inwhich the teeth of the member 61 will .engage the teeth of the member 62in another position, the spring 67 yielding to per mit the lever 54 tomove in an axial direction along the shaft 53 to permit the teeth on themembers 61 and 62 to slide past each other to engage in a new position.

The next operation of' the pull chain 47 will, of course, bring theparts again into the position shown in Fig. 1 in which the circuit isclosed.

As previously stated, the drop from the conducting cam portion onto thenon-conducting cam portion is considerably greater than the drop fromthe non-conducting portion onto the conducting cam portion. Due to thegreater drop from the conducting cam portion onto the insulating camportion, when the spring contact 45 snaps oli` from the conducting camportion onto the nonconduct-ing cam portion, it (the spring contact 45)moves completely out of contact with the spring contact plate 42, sothat in this position it is completely insulated both from the springcontact 42 and from the rotatable contact member 46. When now the cammoves, in a counter-clockwise direction1 from the last discussedposition (see Fig. 8) to the position shown in Fig. 1, the contactsassume the relative positions shown in the latter figure, the member 45being raised into contact with theimember 42 by the contour of portion-44 of the cam. Further progressive movement ofthe cam causes the member45 to ride over the portion 44 and drop into contact with element 51.Due to the relatively small drop from..the nonconducting cam portiononto the conducting cam portion, the spring contact 45 does not move outof contact with the spring contact 42, the parts assuming the positionshown in Fig. 1, in which the circuit from the/con- 'tact 42 to thecontact 46 is completed through the spring contact member 45.

In the modification'of Figs. 11 to 14, we have shown our invention inconnection with a straight lamp socket 76 comprising a two partinsulating base 77 formed of the upper and lower ortions 78 and 79,respectively, and a casing 80 provided with a bead 81 for supporting ashade holder. In this modification the, center and shell contacts 30 and81, the switch mechanism 44, the spring contact 45 and the pull chain 47are essentially similar to the corresponding parts of the modificationof Figs. 1 to '10 and will accordingly not be described again in detail.The casing 80 comprises a cap 82 to which is secured a threaded bushing83 for securing the socket to a conduit, and a shell portion 84. The capis provided with an insulating lining 85 which may be of fibre, and theshell is provided with an insulating lining or cup 86. The centercontact 30 is electrically connected to its binding plate 87 by means ofa screw 88 which also servesv to hold the parts of the base t-ogether.lSeated in a recess in the insulating base 77 is a binding plate 89(Figs. 11 and 12) in which is threaded a binding screw 90, the bindingplate 89 being held in place by means of a screw 91 (Fig. 12), whichscrew also passes through an opening in a U- shaped spring contact orbrush 92 having a base portion 93 lying between the binding plate 89 andthe base 77. A sheet metal clip 94 is provided to limit the movement ofthe spring contact 92,'this clip having an opening 95 through which thebase portion 93 extends to hold the clip in place, and also having anopening 96 through which the free end of the U-shaped contact extends,the movement of the free arm of the contact being limited by engagementwith the edge of the opening 96. The casing 80 isvprovided with a chainguard or horn 97 through which lthe pull chain 47 is led from the switchlever.

Inthis modification the circuit through the socket is fromthe bindingplate 87, through the screw 88, center contact 30, lamp circuit,

.shell contact 31, to the shaft 53, and to the curved movable contactportion or brush 51.y

'ne-amai (comprising two base portions 100 and 101) and a casing 102provided with a bead 103 for supporting a shade. lin this modificationthe center-and shell contacts 80 and 31, the switch mechanism 44, thespring contact 45, and the pull chain 47 are essentially Similar to thecorresponding parts of the modiiications previously described.

rThe casing 102 comprises a shell portion 104 and a cap portion 105detachably secured ltogether in any suitable manner, the shell beingprovided with an insulating lining 106, and the cap being provided withan insulating lining 107. rPhe shell is also provided with a threadedbushing 108 for securing the socket to a conduit. The base 99 isprovided with a channel or passage 109 for the leading-in wires from theconduit 108 to the binding screws 110 and 111 which are threaded in thebinding plates 112 and 113 (Fig. 17). The binding plate 112 iselectrically connected .with the center contact 30 by means of a screw114 which also serves to hold the two parts of the base l together.'llhe base 99 is provided with a channel or passage 115 for the pullchain 47, the cap 105 being provided with arreyelet 116 forming a chainguide through which the pull chain is led. rllhe binding plate 113 iselectrically connected by means of a screw 117 with a U-shaped Contactspring or brush 118, the screw 117 also serving to secure the brush118in place on the insulating base. r1`he screw 117 also serves to holdin place a clip 119, the purpose of which is to limit the movement ofthe contact spring 118. rll`lie clip has a base 120 held in place Ibetween the contact spring 118 and the insulating base and is providedwith an opening 121 through which the contact spring extends, and isalso provided with a bent over portion 122 with which the spring 118engages and by which its movement is limited.

1n this modification the circuit is from the binding screw 110 throughthe binding plate112, screw 114, vcenter contact 30, lamp circuit, shellcontact 31 to the shaft 53 and to the movable contact brush 51.

The operation of the switch of this modification is substantially thesaine as that of the previous modifications.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. Apull switch socket comprising areceptacle contact and a wiring terminal and switch mechanism forcontrolling' the circuit between said terminal and contact comprising arotatable ratchet-like cam-wheel, said cam-wheel having a non-conductingcam terminating in a drop, said cam-wheel also having a conducting camterminating in adrop greater than that of the non-con ducting cam, acontact member held against said cams as it progressively comes intocontact therewith, and insulated both from the receptacle contact andtrom the wiring 4terminal when in engagement with said non-conductingcam, and a second Contact adjacent said first contact and engaged by itwhen said iirst contact engages the conducting cam, the drop Jfrom saidIconducting cam onto said insulating cam being so great that saidfirst-contact disengages said second contact when said first contactdrops onto said non-conducting cam and,` after said first contact hasagain been brought into contact with said second contact by theprogressive movement of said non-conductalso having a conducting camterminating in a drop greater than that of the non-conducting cam, acontact 'memberheld against said cams as it progressively comes intocontact therewith, and insulated both from the receptacle contact andfrom the wiring terminal when in engagement with said non-conductingcam, and a spring contact adjacent said* first contact and engaged by itwhen said rst contact engages the conducting cam, the drop from saidconducting cam onto said insulating cam being so great that said firstcontact disengages said spring contact when said first contact dropsonto saidI non-conducting cam and, after said first contact has againbeen brought into 1 contact with said second Contact by the progressivemovement of said non-conducting cam, the drop from the latter onto saidconducting cam being so small that said first contact does not disengagesaid spring contact as it drops onto said conducting cam,-

and means :for limiting the movement of said spring contact as saidfirst contact drops from said conducting cam ontovsaid non-conductingcam.

, In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names.

REUBEN B. BENJAMIN. EDWIN A. DETRCK,

